


The Missing Cow

by Tybir



Category: Warcraft (2016)
Genre: Biting, Blood, Blood Drinking, Fluff, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 20:44:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8938408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tybir/pseuds/Tybir
Summary: A cow and chicken go missing from a little village.The villagers suspect a vampire, though Lothar has his doubts.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mia826](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mia826/gifts).



> Merry Christmas from your Secret Santa <3

The little village west of Goldshire was so small it rarely made an appearance on maps. It was more a small collection of farms rather than a village. The only public buildings the village boasted were a tiny single room church and a small inn that could only house three guests at any one time. As one of the two rooms was already taken by a pair of sisters visiting from Westfall, that left a single room with a single bed. It was for this reason that a rather unimpressed Commander Lothar was alone in the inn while his men had continued on to the next town.

Lothar had been asked to stay by the village residents. Apparently some of their prized livestock had been taken, and rumour had it that a vampire was to blame. Lothar had raised his eyebrows at the suggestion, as vampires were very rare creatures and little was known about them. Some even thought them to be myth, but Lothar was fairly sure he had read about them during his schooling years. From what he could remember, vampires were a species similar to humans and elves, and were able to crossbreed with them. According to legend a bite from a vampire could turn a regular person into a vampire themselves, but this was apparently a falsehood. To become a vampire, one had to be born a vampire.

Vampires required blood to survive, but most preferred to drink from species similar to them such as non-vampire humans or elves. Whether or not they killed their victims was largely unknown and very likely up to the individual creature’s disposition. As the tiny village had yet to lose any of its inhabitants to the supposed vampire lurking near the cliffs to the north, it seemed unlikely that the creature was any serious threat to them. Nonetheless Lothar had agreed to investigate for them, and see about locating their farm animals. The creature had apparently taken a cow and chicken.

There was a myth that vampires were allergic to the sun and burned under its light, but Lothar was fairly sure this was untrue and that they simply preferred to be nocturnal so as not to be preyed upon by their sources of sustenance. Figuring it was safer to search for the creature in daylight, Lothar set out towards the cliffs in the early morning. As he travelled, he pondered the situation. If the creature who had taken the animals was actually a vampire, it was likely using them, or at least the cow, for a source of blood that was safer to take than from an unwilling human. To Lothar this seemed a fairly reasonable compromise.

If he were to find the animals and return them to the village, the vampire would need to either steal them back or start feasting on the humans. And that was unlikely to end well for the human if they decided to put up a struggle. With incredibly sharp teeth and claws and fast reflexes to match, vampires could be very deadly. The simple villagers would be no match if they were to anger their blood sucking neighbour. This was assuming the animal thief actually was a vampire, and not just a common bandit. Or perhaps the cow had simply wandered away and the chickens had been miscounted.

Lothar’s musings were interrupted when he reached a small cave. A quick search inside found it to be empty, but he started keeping a sharper eye out for possible cave entrances along the cliff face. It was after a fair amount of searching that he realised he was looking in the wrong spot. Vampires were very nimble creatures and could easily scale the cliff face, but cows were not. It would be easier to find a cow than a nesting vampire, so Lothar started searching for traces of hoof prints and possible areas a cow might be hidden.

Eventually he found a pathway that wound around a large rocky area, hiding a small green field behind it. Inside the tiny field stood one fairly healthy looking black and white cow. Resting atop a rock was the chicken, a fussy looking white bird that was settled in a rather cosy looking nest. A careful of inspection of the area revealed a small path leading up to a cave entrance that was so well hidden Lothar walked past it the first time, only noticing it on his way back. Stepping quietly into the cave, Lothar realised that this was indeed a lair.

An assortment of domestic items and crudely crafted implements lined a shelf along one side of the cave wall, and a pile of blankets lay in the far corner of the cave. A dark shape was curled up in the blankets, indicating the rumour that vampires always slept upside down hanging from the ceiling was indeed another falsehood. Lothar wasn’t quite sure what to do at first, but leaving the creature undisturbed was not an option as the blankets began to move. Dark eyes peeped out of an unnaturally pale face. The vampire was smaller and scruffier than Lothar imagined, and he wondered at first if he had stumbled upon an orphan or bandit rather than a mythical creature.

He wondered no more when the next thing he knew he was flat on his back. The young man had moved much faster than any normal human could. He had launched himself onto Lothar’s chest, bowling him over and pinning him with a surprising strength considering his stature. While not much smaller than Lothar, he did not have the benefit of plate armour. Instead the creature wore simple linens that looked like they could use a bit of mending.

Lothar remained perfectly still, locking eyes with the vampire hovering above him. A pair of tiny white fangs were peeking out from behind the creature’s upper lip, confirming his species. The villagers had been right. Hopefully they weren’t right about the vampire being a dangerous threat.  
“My name is Anduin Lothar,” the commander said quietly.  
The vampire was flaring his nostrils as though smelling him. “Hungry,” he breathed.  
“I assume that’s why you have the cow?” Lothar tried.  
“Not as good, still hungry.” The vampire was nuzzling his neck now, and Lothar tensed in anticipation.

“What’s your name?” Lothar asked, hoping to distract the creature. There was no way he could reach his sword pinned down like this, and once the vampire bit him he would be drained of energy, leaving him at the mercy of the creature whose lair he had just invaded.  
“Khadgar,” the vampire answered, still nosing about Lothar’s throat as though trying to restrain himself and failing.  
“Well Khadgar, could you…” Lothar’s sentence was interrupted by the soft scraping of a tongue over his neck. Khadgar licked him twice more before biting down.

Lothar tensed up at first in response to the sharp pain, but whatever the vampire injected him with numbed his neck quickly. He couldn’t even feel the blood being drawn, but Khadgar’s gently suckling noises suggested that he was indeed feasting. He had bitten the lower part of Lothar’s neck near where it joined the shoulder, and was now enjoying his meal. Lothar felt the energy draining from him and let his arms fall to his side, not bothering to struggle against the creature above him. He could only hope Khadgar let him leave afterwards.

Considering it was unlikely the vampire had drank from a human in a long time, and apparently the animal blood was an insufficient meal for the creature, it was entirely possible that Lothar had unwilling given Khadgar a taste for human blood. In which case it was possible that the vampire wouldn’t let him leave, or would start harassing the villagers seriously rather than leaving them alone as he had been  before. Lothar was starting to feel very foolish.

After Khadgar had drunk his fill, the vampire collapsed atop his prey and curled up sleepily. Between the daylight and the good quality meal, Khadgar was exhausted and more than ready for sleep. He drifted into a light doze and Lothar could not help but join him, exhausted from loss of blood. The vampire had taken a fair amount, likely because had been so hungry. When Lothar return to consciousness the vampire was still atop him. The sun was higher in the sky, indicating it was near midday. Khadgar appeared to be in a deeper sleep than before, but any attempt at shifting would surely wake him.

Lothar attempted to disentangle himself from the young vampire regardless, but paused when he inevitably woke the creature. Khadgar blinked at him in confusion for a moment before remembering the events from earlier that morning and settled himself more comfortably on top of the warrior, apparently intent on returning to sleep.  
“Khadgar,” Lothar started, wondering if he could bargain his way out of the mess he had gotten himself into.  
“Hmm,” Khadgar mumbled back sleepily.  
“May I go now? I’m hungry,” he tried.  
“My chicken has eggs,” Khadgar offered, raising his head from Lothar’s chest.  
“Eggs would be nice. You will have to let me get up now,” Lothar pointed out.

“But you’re so warm,” Khadgar complained. “And if I let you go you’ll leave.”  
“You know I can’t stay here,” Lothar said as gently as possible. The last thing he wanted to do was rile the vampire.  
“But you’re so tasty. Why did you come here anyway?”  
“I came to look for the cow and chicken. It looks like they belong to you now, so I thought I’d just leave them here.”  
“They are nice, but you are nicer. You mustn’t leave.”

“I have a family to get back to. My son will miss me.”  
“You should bring him here too.”  
“For you to feast on?” Lothar raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.  
“Your blood is strong and tasty. I have felt unwell for many years now, for the first time I do not. You cannot leave me here, I will surely die without better sustenance.”

Lothar wasn’t sure what to say to that. As he had suspected, he had unwittingly given Khadgar a taste of human blood, which apparently the vampire needed to survive. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before he attacked the villagers anyway. Regardless, Lothar couldn’t leave him now, he would be too dangerous. The villagers would surely object to being fed on, which would lead to an attempt to kill Khadgar, which would not end well for the villagers. Khadgar may be young but he was proof that vampires were both fast and strong.

The alternative was to kill Khadgar, but slaying a vampire simply because it wanted to eat to survive seemed wrong. Khadgar required human blood, and if the villagers wouldn’t give it voluntarily then Lothar was going to have to find someone who would.  
“How often do vampires feed?” Lothar asked.  
“On food? Whenever we like. Three times a day I suppose. On blood, every week if it is good blood. Once a day if it is bad, like the cow’s.”

Lothar sighed. He knew what he had to do. “If you let me go back home to Stormwind, you can come with me. I can provide blood for you, but you must promise not to drink from anyone else.”  
Khadgar looked up at the warrior suspiciously. “How do I know you wouldn’t get rid of me?”  
“You don’t. But I have what you need to survive, and I can promise you comfort and safety in return for letting me return home, and for leaving the nearby villagers alone.”  
“Stormwind is a city. Too many people.”  
“I live in the castle, it’s much quieter there. You can stay in my quarters to start with, but if you behave yourself you will have plenty of space to move about in.”

Khadgar pondered for a while, brows furrowed in concentration as he considered his options. He feared the nearby villagers, but the cow was proving to be an inadequate source of sustenance. The most delicious creature lay beneath him and was offering safety and comfort, two things he could never really remember having before. The offer was very tempting. “What about my chicken?”  
“There are plenty of eggs and other food in the castle, you will never go hungry for food there. I thought I could return the cow and chicken to the villagers since you would no longer need them.”

Khadgar was still unsure of this plan, but if things went south he could always whisk himself away into the night and return to his little cave. Taking the livestock had been easy and it wasn’t the first time he had made off with a farmer’s animal. With the tang of Lothar’s blood still on his tongue, Khadgar had to agree to the deal. He said goodbye to his animal friends, and watched from the shadows as Lothar returned them with the assurance that there weren’t any vampires lurking about.

Lothar mounted his horse and met up with Khadgar just outside the village, then rode them towards Stormwind as promised. Khadgar clung to Lothar’s shiny armour as they entered the city, the sights and sounds assaulting his senses. He felt overwhelmed, and was rather frightened that Lothar may change his mind or had been deceiving him. The last thing he wanted was to end up in a city jail. Lothar was a man of his word though, and Khadgar was soon tucked up in a thick, warm blanket in the warrior’s quarters.

To say that King Llane was unimpressed was an understatement. While he understood Lothar’s reasoning, he was not happy with a vampire living under the same roof as his children, even if Lothar had stationed guards outside his quarters just to make sure that Khadgar didn’t wander. Queen Taria was curious, and suggested that they speak to their new guest as it was likely he would be staying with them for a long time. She didn’t like the idea of him being squirreled away in her brother’s room like some sad little pet, but she did understand the safety concerns her husband had.

Khadgar had made himself a rather comfortable looking nest on the floor with the blankets Lothar had given him, and was sound asleep when Taria came to visit. Lothar watched with mild concern for his sister’s safety as she approached him, their entrance to the room stirring him from his slumber. Taria introduced herself and Khadgar responded shyly. They talked quietly and Lothar began to relax. Now that Khadgar was no longer hungry he seemed less dangerous. From Lothar’s position near the door, Khadgar looked less like a vampire and more like a scruffy youth that needed a bit of care.

Lothar organised for Khadgar to have a nice warm bath, and for proper clothes to be brought for him. The vampire made an effort to stand up straight as he was used to hunching over in the cave and when he scaled the cliffs. Khadgar was more than happy to shadow Lothar as he was nervous about his surroundings. Stormwind Castle held many new and interesting sights and scents, and many new people to meet. The library quickly became his favourite place, and Khadgar started spending most of his time there. He gradually shifted from nocturnal to diurnal so that he didn’t bother Lothar when the warrior slept.

He eventually moved from his little blanket nest up onto the bed beside his source of sustenance, and proved to be a very snugly addition to Lothar’s living quarters. They settled into a weekly routine for feeding, but Lothar never bothered to keep track of it as Khadgar preferred to feed at night while they were in bed. The vampire would lick his neck repeatedly until it was numb, and Lothar wouldn’t admit it but he actually found the experience rather soothing. He never felt the sting of Khadgar’s fangs, and was usually asleep by the time the vampire had finished feeding. Khadgar would lick his neck again anyway, just to make sure his bite marks healed quickly.

One night Khadgar’s tongue didn’t numb him, and his lips brushed against Lothar’s neck ever so softly.  Lothar realised that it had only been half a week since the vampire had last fed. He turned his head to gaze into Khadgar’s lust filled eyes, and didn’t think twice before pulling him into a passionate kiss. He quickly learnt to stay clear of Khadgar’s fangs. They were small but sharp, and they were the source of the numbing agent. Lothar did not wish to feel numb that night.


End file.
